Music Health Alliance offers FREE assistance during Open Enrollment & Medicare Assistance to Music CommunityThe Music Health Alliance (MHA) is offering free appointments for individuals, groups, and seniors across the country to ensure they get the healthcare coverage they need during this year’s open enrollment. Continue reading
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Hidden Hits in Plain SightThe pop music hit parade is rife with can't-miss songs that were overlooked for years, needing a remix or re-recording to bring out the best in the tune. Here are 10 examples of this fascinating phenomenon.

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Universal just launched a claims-free music subscription service for content creators with 50,000 tracks and 200,000 sound effectsThe Universal Music for Creators service starts at $5.99 per month
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The strategic reason HYBE’s Chairman wants to retire in 10 years, and 2 other things we learned from Bang Si-Hyuk’s recent interviewBang Si-hyuk explained the logic behind HYBE's US expansion, the differences between the US and Korean music industries, and his retirement, in recent chat with Bloomberg
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Spotify adds a personalized multi-artist Merch HubSpotify has made changes in recent months designed to help artists sell more merch, including a Shopify integration and a Merch tab on Artists’ Pages. Now, the streamer has added. Continue reading
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SoundExchange royalty payments rise 8% to $257M in Q3SoundExchange announced that it paid out $257 million in royalties in the third quarter of 2023, an 8% increase from the same period in 2022. Year-to-date, SoundExchange distribution payments total. Continue reading
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Music has become a ‘just-in-time’ economyThe modern day economy is built upon ‘just-in-time’ supply chains. This framework has enabled the benefits of consumerism that we have come to enjoy, such as next day delivery, out of season foods on our shelves, and the digital devices we live our lives through. Each component of the just-in-time economy works in tightly coordinated partnership, from factories, through transport, to point of sale. The underlying principle is that every component is manufactured and delivered at just the right time, to ensure that there is a continual throughput of production, assembly, and consumption. Gone are the old days of large warehouses containing product, just in case it is needed. Instead, just the right amount makes its way around the world in shipping containers to meet demand. Most of us never even knew this system existed until the pandemic, when it suddenly broke down and we found ourselves short of essentials, like toilet paper. Perhaps without even realising it, the music business has become a just-in-time economy too, and that is not a good thing.

The music business used to be characterised by artists disappearing into the studio for months on end and emerging with an album for expectant fans to get their hands on at some time in the future. Bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers were able to average four years between their albums and still expect their fanbase to be there, waiting eagerly for the next release. Streaming and social media combined to turn that model on its head, heralding the era of the always-on artist. Now, artists fear the consequences of not putting out a single every month. Heck, even Daniel Ek said it is “not enough” for artists to release albums “every 3-4 years” and that they need to create “continuous engagement with their fans”.

Add this to the very real fear that the algorithm will ‘forget’ artists if they do not keep up a steady flow of social posts and releases, and you have the foundation stones for music’s just-in-time economy. The implication, no, the reality, is that if artists do not conform to the always-on model then they will be lost by (not in) the system. Artists (and their rightsholders) have become just-in-time suppliers, with the subtle, yet seismic, shift from delivering art to their fans when they have finished their creative process, at their pace, to filling a slot in the never ceasing supply chain. It is an environment that, unsurprisingly, has created the hit today, gone tomorrow world that today’s music business operates within.

The model works well for platforms, and consumers, but less so for artists, due to misaligned incentives across the industry. The underlying problem with the system is that the content platforms that shape today’s entertainment business (TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Spotify, etc.) value creation more than they do creators. The more creation that there is, the more that the platforms’ algorithms are able to target users with ever more specific and personalised content. The platforms all, of course, talk a good talk about creators, but what matters most to them is that their users get the right content. It does not matter whether that means a thousand creators delivering one piece of content to a thousand users, or one creator to one thousand users. With the pervasive obsession with ‘new’, as soon as one piece of content has been served, another is needed.

This is how we described this dynamic back in early 2021:

“In the attention economy’s volume and velocity game, the streaming platform is a hungry beast that is perpetually hungry. Each new song is just another bit of calorific input to sate its appetite.”

And it is not just the consumer platforms that fuel this fire. Artist distribution platforms play a role too. The unspoken promise of the platforms is that artists have a chance to compete with the likes of Taylor Swift. Of course, 99.99% of the nearly six and a half million self-releasing artists will never get into the same race, let alone win it. 

We are at the point where there needs to be a duty of care to creators, from both distributors and platforms. This starts with selling the right dream. Some artists may only ever have a thousand fans (or fewer) who want to listen to their music. That should be embraced as an aspirational goal, not failure. Service offerings should be geared around helping creators understand what their realistic (but aspirational) goals should be, and helping them achieve them. Not a nudge and a wink implication that they can all become superstars.

If this does not happen, we are heading towards a massive creator backlash, driven by a generation of creators wondering why they are not superstars yet. And that is not in the interest of any of the industry’s stakeholders, except perhaps the homes of superstars.

The just-in-time model in the wider economy has underpinned an unprecedented amount of consumption, and that comes with its own set of challenges, especially with regards to sustainability. It has also contributed to, as the Guardian put it, “the growth of low-wage, often more precarious jobs, with workers recruited only when they would beneeded. This constant squeezing of workers has fuelled our 24/7 work culture and the mental health problems that go with it, while attempts to cut the price of labour have added tothe growth of economic inequality, regardless of who sits in government”. All of which sounds remarkably similar to the plight of many of today’s artists.

4 Steps to a Successful DIY Regional TourRegional touring is definitely a smaller beast than performing nationally, but it is still a beast of a project. These 4 tips will help even the smallest artists make the. Continue reading
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Getting It Done: Last Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicLast week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to grow our fanbase, some new changes to music streaming, and more…
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REWIND: The new music industry’s last week in reviewA busy week by any definition; last week in music and the music industry was no exception, with more members added to the YouTube Billions Club, Spotify getting a new. Continue reading
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Mariah the Scientist Signs with Epic Records, Announces 'To Be Eaten Alive'Atlanta singer-songwriter Mariah The Scientist releases her new single and music video, “From A Woman,” and the pre-order of her first studio album on the Epic Records label, To Be Eaten Alive, to be released October 27. Stream & download the single, produced by London on da Track, below.

The “From A Woman” video, Mariah’s first since 2022’s “Bout Mine,” is directed by Leff (Future, Nas), and features the singer ensconced in a late-night romantic setting, joined via small screen by Young Thug, her love interest both on and off set. Though Thug’s appearance isn’t physical, his presence is felt, and Mariah’s intimate performance doubles as an ode to their romance.

Follow Mariah The Scientist: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok

Joji at the Crypto.com Arena in Los AngelesThe career trajectory of the Japanese singer-songwriter and rapper Joji, real name George Kusunoki Miller, is an interesting one. Joji started his career as the oddball comedy character ‘Filthy Frank’ on YouTube before pursuing music full-time in 2017. His music is the complete opposite of his loud online persona. Focusing on minimalistic down tempo production, somber themes and soulful vocals. Now with three albums under his belt, he’s built a dedicated fan base big enough to play the 20,000 seat venue the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Oct 6. 

Opening for Joji that night were rappers SavageRealm, Lil Toe (Ammo), and DJ Kenny Beats who helped rile up the crowd with their anthemic music and fun personalities. Joji began his set in dramatic fashion appearing on the venue’s screens next to a banner of his show teasing his arrival. Joji opened the night with "Sanctuary'' standing on top of high columns in the middle of the stage alongside his band. These columns were LCD screens that created a cinematic ambience to the night. 

Joji's set list consisted of a mix of all his albums (Ballads 1, Nectar, Smithereens) and mixtape (In Tongues). It's easy to connect to the music as it's filled with relatable topics of love and heartbreak. The whole crowd was singing along to every lyric with emotion - especially on the catchy tracks like "YEAH RIGHT" or tender ballads like "Like You Do."

Joji’s personality shined all night as he blended his love of comedy and music. This setlist included small skits – like Joji going on his pee break and SavageRealm (who did double duty by opening and DJing Joji's set) sharing his favorite viral videos. The chemistry between Joji and SavageRealm was entertaining to watch as they bickered and cracked jokes through the night. 

Towards the end of the night Joji took another pee break and came back with his team as the DJs group Yebi Labs. The atmosphere was club-like as they played electronic mashups of his music while hyping with the crowd. Joji used this time to sign autographs and throw items to the crowd. After the DJ set Joji returned for chilling performances of “Die for You,” “Like You Do” and “Gimme Love.” His voice is soft yet powerful. The inclusion of having a full band on stage also helped create a more dynamic sound. He ended his set with “Glimpse of Us, ” the perfect song to end as this song is his first single to debut in the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100.

Kenny Beats

Lil Toe (Ammo)

SAVAGEREALM

Set List:

Sanctuary

YEAH RIGHT

NIGHT RIDER

Will He

Daylight

YUKON (INTERLUDE)

Pretty Boy

worldstar money (interlude)

I Don't Wanna Waste My Time

Attention

Ew

Die for You

Like You Do

Afterthought

Can't Get Over You

Plastic Taste

Gimme Love

Encore:

Slow Dancing in the Dark

Glimpse of Us

From Block’s HIFI acquisition to Warner’s buyout of E-Positive in India… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days
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Major record companies issue statements condemning terrorist attacks in IsraelMajor recording companies and the Recording Academy condemn the atrocious attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel over the weekend
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